Saturday: 28.February.2004

Wiki

Wiki (pronounced weekee) is a word every good geek should know. It refers to a collaborative style of web site, such as Wikipedia, where anyone, such as you or me, can edit content using an ordinary web browser. The word can also refer to the software used to create such web sites.

The phrase "wiki wiki" means "fast" in Hawaiian. And that's how web sites evolve that use wiki software: fast. When you open up the editing of content to the whole world, sites evolve quickly.

You can write anything you want, but others are free to move, edit or even delete it. And you can delete anything you want, but others may restore it just as quickly. The end result is surprisingly good.

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The first wiki was created by Ward Cunnigham in March 1995 for the Portland Pattern Repository (which publishes Pattern Languages). Wikipedia has become one of my favorite Internet destinations when I have a question, because it provides quick, accurate & concise information on a wide variety of topics. For these reasons, you'll find that I link to it frequently. It's like Bartleby's without the ads.

Expect to see more wiki-style sites appear in the future. You can learn more about wiki sites & their software here.